No
by lizzybennettdarcy
Summary: Following the showdown between Team Free Will, Team Hell, Chuck and Amara. Castiel says No. A showdown between himself and Chuck occurs. AU - canon divergence.


"No."

Silence followed as every eye turned towards the Angel leaning against the wall. It was the first thing he'd said since the first showdown with Amara. The first sign of life from him since Lucifer had been forcefully ejected into nothingness from his body.

 _Dean stared at the body of his best friend lying just feet from him but he couldn't force himself to move towards him again. He could discern no clear movement and he didn't think he could face Cas being gone. He'd seen Lucifer's face as he was burned out of Cas' vessel, out of_ Cas _. But that didn't mean that she hadn't killed Cas too. Or that Cas wasn't already dead._

 _It wasn't like Dean had checked, right? Lucifer had been living with them for a few days and Dean had ignored every instinct to save his friend while he was there._

 _Sam however was staring at Chuck._

" _Dean. What do we do now?"_

 _That was the question, wasn't it?_

 _Sam moved over to Chuck and gently shook him and sighed a breath of relief when he received a groan of pain in response. At any other time Dean might have chuckled about the visual of his Moose of a brother carrying God bridal-style._

 _But his eyes had already landed back on Cas. He crawled on aching knees towards the Angel, praying to a God who didn't seem to care and the Angel who might already be dead. One hand landed on Cas' chest and Dean felt the tension inside of him fissure when he felt a heavy, dull beat beneath his fingers. He stumbled forwards and cupped Cas' cheek with his other hand._

" _Cas?" Cas!" He cried out, suddenly and painfully reminded of Lucifer's taunts._

 _The Angel made no response, not even a twitch of a muscle or an increase in pulse. Dean's thumb worked its way over his cheek and a tear caught in his lashes. "Just stay with me, Cas. Please. I can't do this without you. Please."_

 _After a few more minutes of hopeful pleas falling on deaf ears, Dean pulled Castiel to his chest and carried the Angel out of the warehouse. He found Rowena waiting by the Impala and gesturing excitedly to Sam about the Sun card and some nonsense about a bomb._

 _Dean got into the back with an unconscious Chuck and Angel. Sam's eyes caught his for several long moments as he turned on the engine and listened to Rowena's new plan. Dean settled back against the seat with an arm full of Cas. At the moment he was so torn between relief at Cas being alive and free of Lucifer and afraid of him dying and the drama with Amara, that if he'd been pressed about it, he probably wouldn't have even made up some lame excuse._

Cas had been unconscious for a day and a half. Chuck had woken within an hour. Cas was definitely faring better though. Chuck was pale and seemed to have lost 5 pounds. But Cas hadn't said a single word since he had woken up and walked into their planning meeting several hours before. He'd sat quietly in the corner and then at some point moved to lean against the wall. But he listened, never speaking.

"No." He repeated, his voice gruff with disuse and renewed authority.

Dean raised an eyebrow as he recalled the Castiel of years before who put the fear of God into everyone he met. It had been a long time since he'd heard Cas speak with that kind of authority.

Rowena took a slight step back, also a bit startled by the sudden turn in Castiel's demeanor. "What do you mean no, Dear?"

Cas stared at her for a moment and she shifted beneath his gaze, the gaze of a truly powerful being and not the one she had crushed and cursed. "No." Cas repeated once more, tone clipped.

Sam shot a quick look over at Dean and then intervened. "You don't like the plan." It wasn't a question. Sam didn't like the plan either.

Castiel stepped away from the wall and raised his chin. "It's not a plan."

Rowena opened her mouth to object, the plan had been her idea after all. She wrinkled her brows and tapped a perfect nail on the table. "It's a damn good plan, boy."

Cas moved swiftly and stood within an inch of her face. "It's not a plan, _Witch_. It's suicide. You're proud of your plan only because you will escape unharmed." He narrowed his eyes and the lights in the room flickered. "You are a _guest_ here. Do not _mistake_ the necessity to work together as naivety or inferiority on our side. You will betray us, as you betray everyone."

"Castiel."

Cas straightened slightly, giving Rowena a last warning glance before stepping away from her and turning to face Chuck who had finally spoken up from his side of the table. His face was a mask of impassivity but Dean could see his blue eyes smouldering with anger. Dean moved around the table, unsure of whether he was there as a buffer or as backup. He stood by Cas' side as the Angel faced his father.

The air was thick with tension, somehow worse than it had been with Lucifer and Chuck. Lucifer had at least acted out and Chuck had responded in kind. Castiel didn't stand before Chuck in petulance or hurt. He wasn't waiting for an apology. And it somehow made it all the more awkward. When it became clear that Cas wasn't planning on speaking, Chuck coughed and ducked his head.

"I'm sure that you're wanting-" Chuck began.

"No." Cas cut in harshly. "I'm not interested in hearing what you think I want. I'm not Lucifer. I'm not your favourite son and you didn't lock me in a cage in Hell for eternity. I don't need your apologies or justifications." Dean brushed his hand against Cas' wrist. For all that Cas was saying, there was hurt there, buried deep and Dean got it. "I don't care if you feel guilty or don't. Because you made me and left. I've never known you. I've served you and your creation more faithfully than any other Angel you ever created and you were less of a father and more of a genetic donor. I searched and I served and I gave up. I lost faith in you."

Chuck's eyes were sad but Cas was on a roll as Dean's fingers tangled with his. "I lost faith in you and you'll never get it back. But I found faith again. I found it here, with my family. I found it in humanity. So, no. I don't want to hear it from you. You can take your apologies or justifications, because I had to find my own family."

"Castiel. It's a good plan." Chuck replied after a few moments of tense silence.

Dean's grip tightened as the air crackled and Cas' wings appeared briefly. "It's _not_ a plan! It's you letting others take the fall for your mess!" Cas bellowed.

Dean snuck a glance over his shoulder and Rowena had backed up against the wall, half-hidden behind his brother. Sam's eyes were wide. Dean turned back and watched as Chuck climbed to his feet.

"I didn't let Amara out, I didn't make Dean take the Mark, Casti-"

"You chose to lock her away in the first place! You chose to do it in such a faulty way in the first place! You punished Lucifer for millennia for your mistakes instead of helping him to hold her at bay! You expected a human to be able to control her cage, when you couldn't do it yourself?" Cas was furious, his wings popping in and out of view now. Dean struggled to keep his eyes on the argument and not on the wings that arched over him. " _You_ left Heaven behind. But you kept a sideline seat so you could interfere when you wanted. So stop talking about free will! Because it was you that got us here. Everything else was reaction. Lucifer is dead. Now you think Dean dying or allowing her to pull him into the void is a reasonable option?"

"Enough!" Chuck yelled and the room shook, light blazing around his outline. When the earth stopped moving, only he and Castiel remained on their feet.

Dean stared up at the tableau before him and heard his brother gasp in surprise. Chuck had become somehow _more_. He was light and energy and he was bigger, but it was still possible to make out his features beneath the _otherness_. And Cas was beautiful. He was every bit the avenging angel Dean had always known he was. His wings were fully corporeal. The feathers were Impala black and gunmetal grey near the tips. Energy like lightning danced along the wings that looked impossibly soft and lethal. Cas' eyes were bluer than they'd ever been and he too seemed to glow along the edges. But where Chuck brought a feeling of fear, Cas brought only comfort and rightness.

"Enough, Castiel." Chuck's voice was louder, yet it seemed to come from within and not without.

" _Pay attention, Dean_." Chuck whispered, as though right in his ear.

"No." Castiel repeated. "I won't allow this.

"Castiel! Your disobedience tests my patience. I'm dying, surely you know this. This is the only way."

Cas' wings puffed out and he growled. "You're lying. You're God. She threw you around like you were nothing. You _let_ her. I won't let you do this."

The room shook once more and Chuck's light blazed. Castiel raised his wings and shielded the others.

"You would risk all of creation for one man. Do not be selfish, Castiel. It is a necessary sacrifice."

"No! Fight your own battles. Dean Winchester will not be your lamb, _Chuck_."

Dean flew through the air and landed next to Sam as White clashed with Gold. Sam had his face covered and Rowena was lying face down on the floor but Dean couldn't look away as Castiel, Angel of the Lord and God clashed. He knew that the light should hurt him, knew that it would hurt the others but he wasn't afraid.

Cas and Chuck separated. Chuck pushed Castiel back a step. "You love him that much?" His tone was softer, understanding in a way it simply hadn't been before.

" _Are you listening?"_ Chuck whispered to Dean.

Castiel's eyes found Dean's and he nodded. "Yes. Find another way."

Chuck bowed his head. Dean blinked as both the Angel and God began to fade back into their vessels. Chuck shoved his hands in his pockets and gave them a sheepish grin. "Fellas, I think the three of us should have a chat."

Sam and Rowena jumped to their feet as Chuck, Cas and Dean disappeared with a wave of Chuck's hand.

"Well, Lad. I could use a drink."


End file.
